How often do you see this?
 

noticed due to being a contest race today. In the 6th at HP, the #2 horse is running WITHOUT a whip.

You see it notated every so often..

I'd love to see this for Sky Dragon today, with the change of jock to Garcia.

Samba Rooster is a prominent example of a horse whose rider doesn't carry a whip.

Are whip rules generally mandated by the state or track?

A couple years ago at River Downs we had a horse that would run with no whip because the trainer said she hated getting hit. She kept running 2nd and 3rd, but was competetive.

So Louis Stokes who was riding the horse, begged the trainer to let him use the whip. The trainer finally said ok, but only on the front, no hitting on her hind end. So what happened first start with the whip?? She won by 2.